Bicameralism in the Republic of Ireland: The Seanad Abolition Referendum

Whether or not a legislature is uni- or bi-cameral has been found to have important consequences. Ireland's 1937 constitution provided for a directly elected lower chamber (Dáil Éireann) and an indirectly elected upper chamber (Seanad Éireann). With the appointment to government in 2011 of two political parties with a common electoral commitment to abolish bicameralism, the subsequent coalition agreement included a promise to hold a referendum offering voters the option to move to a unicameral parliamentary system. On 4 October 2013, the electorate voted to retain the upper chamber, albeit by a narrow majority of 51.7 per cent, on a turnout of 39.17 per cent. The outcome was arguably surprising, given that opinion polls signalled a plurality of voters favoured abolition, and there was a general public antipathy towards political institutions in the midst of a major economic crisis. Public opinion research suggests that a combination of factors explained voting behaviour, including a lack of interest amongst those who did not vote. A cost savings argument was a significant factor for those favouring abolition, while concerns over government control of the legislative process appear to have been most prominent in the minds of those who voted to retain the upper chamber.

"The Constitution in Northern Ireland - After the Scottish Independence Referendum"

This chronicle considers some of the possible developments in the Northern Ireland Peace Process that may be occasioned by the imperatives for wider constitutional change resulting from the Independence Referendum in Scotland in September 2014. After reviewing the devolution story in Scotland, and the developments leading to the referendum, some of the wider tensions that remain within the UK constitution are reviewed, and their impact on the Northern Ireland settlement are considered. Next, attention is given to the range of issues that are presently undermining the continuing success of the Northern Ireland settlement as a mechanism of government and the possibilities for adapting the constitutional architecture to overcome these difficulties.